The Last Day...

There's always a last day. It doesn't matter if he's on the first or the last crew to head out, we still have to face that bittersweet day of knowing that we won't be together again until it's over. Yesterday was ours. We were busy, but we had fun too. We just tried to make the best of it. Most importantly we were together.



Daddy and Abbie chilling out.



The A-6 Intruder display that Andy hoped would be finished before he left was just almost there--and it was really cool to see a plane like that hanging by cables from a crane.



An ice cream break.



Carolyn playing with her "mouse" while we were out running errands.





A little more fun at another beach.



Weather rolling in.



Daddy and Abbie sneaking in one more heart to heart.



And finally a photo of the two of us. This was taken a little before 1 a.m. (he left in the wee hours).




And so... It starts.

Extras

These are just photos taken in the last couple of days, that don't fit here, there or anywhere.



Carolyn wearing Daddy's cranial and posing as The Red Baron.



The Red Baron poses with Mommy.



Ok... She's just plain adorable, isn't she????

Auntie K

My Aunt K came to visit this week, and we had a really good time visiting with her. We especially enjoyed playing at Deception Pass.





Abbie on driftwood.







Carolyn threw lots of rocks into the water. "One, two, free!"



Carolyn found some cool seaweed on the beach and she and daddy brought it to show Mommy.

Back to Lavender Wind

We're cramming in all the family fun we can this week, so we headed back to my favorite place on the island, the Lavendar Wind Farm.



The lavender up close.



Carolyn exploring with her fingers.



Abbie asleep in the sun.



Daddy and Carolyn sharing secrets.



Mama and Abbie.



Abbie my thinkative girl.



Carolyn's sweet smile.



Daddy and Abbie in the center of the lavender labyrinth.



A single lavender flower.

Flaming What???!

Hmmm... what might these flames be on?????



Any guesses?



That's right! As an anniversary present, Andy gave the mini-van some pizzazz. I've missed the flames that our old little blue Neon had so much, that he decided to get some for the van.



Me in the "Flaming Goobermobile."

Fun Times Inside and Out.

We thought briefly of sending her to Zimbabwe, but figured the postage would be too high with all the sippy cups we'd have to throw in.

Also, we'd miss her too much.



So, as much as I hate it when uniforms like this make an appearance (it means Andy will soon be making a disapperance), Carolyn looks awful cute when she plays dress up in them.



Carolyn helped Daddy wash the car today.



Scrub, scrub.



My lavender.

A Mouse!

Carolyn has her first imaginary friend. He happens to be a mouse. She holds out her hand, gets very excited and breathy and says, "Look! A mouse!" Then the narration starts: "Mouse eats supper! Berries with sugar!" "Where'd he go? Where'd he go?" "On shoulder!" "Here! Hold him!"

It's really extremely incredibly adorable.

Abbie, Abbie, Abbie

Finally Abbie is starting to break out some smiles for us! I haven't caught a good one yet, but I have some 'almosts' and a washed out one.... and then there are just a few pictures of her pure cuteness.

Oh and you can see that my lap is the gathering place for one and all these days.

Whale Watching!

For our Anniversary, Andy and I splurged and we all went out on a whale-watching adventure. We all had a good time, though it was a long day for the girls.



Our boat.



Carolyn.



Carolyn and Daddy.



A ferryboat.



What Abbie did.



We got to see a group of Orcas that frequents the water of the sound called the J-pod. Here you can see just what a large group they are. According to our guide, most of the other pods aren't so close-knit so they travel in smaller splinter groups and may spread out over a mile or so. J-pod sticks together so you get to see many of the Orcas all at once.





Orcas are Matriarchal, and J-pod is led by a 96 year old whale named Granny. Granny is pretty old by Orca standards, I guess. They key to her longevity, they say? Swimming daily and a large intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acids.



Carolyn was awake and excited and ready to see whales for quite a while. Then... then she got tired. Then, we got close to the whales and we went outside to see them and she fell asleep on my shoulder. So, this is what Carolyn did during our time with the whales. Sweet little punkin.

Yeah... even though it was our anniversary trip we didn't get a photo of the two of us. Oh well.